Education Costs

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 144, 14 March 1931, Page 9

Education Costs

Sir, —Mr. Forbes is to be congratulated on his decision to attempt to put a •top to the waste that occurs annually •n education. ‘ ' For one tiling, there is too much free secondary education. The old idea of few scholarships for those who have brains, or better still, application, was infinitely better. Any others desirous of secondary education should be made to pay for it Many of our most notable citizens left school after receiving only a primary course and went to work. Any education they got after that they paid for out of their meagre earnings and obtained at night or after working hours. At the same time in the struggle they gained strength of character —the greatest asset of all to any man. Then, too, the free dental clinic should be abolished. Any family wishing dental treatment should have to pay a small sum annually—say, 5/- or even 2/6. The sum attained might not be very large, but it would help to restore a spirit of independence to the community which has been sadly lacking of late years. The medical staff could be done away with altogether, as the amount of good they do is not at all commensurate with the expense involved. The inspectorate could be reduced with advantage and the large army of travelling instructors would scarcely be missed. What result ean an instructor visiting a school for a couple of hours once a term hope to attain? • Incidentally, with boys leaving school earlier the trades might find it easier to get apprentices and so the country would have more skilled workmen. All free university education should most certainly be done away with and a few good scholarships substituted. This continual spoon-feeding is producing a race with no initiative and no desire for work. All the present generation seem to think of is games, pictures, and having a good time generally. Of the value of money, few, if any, have the slightest conception.—l am, etc., SELF-RELIANCE. March, 4. .....